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Biologists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Research or study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and functions.

Related: Geneticists Microbiologists Molecular & Cellular Biologists Soil & Plant Scientists Zoologists & Wildlife Biologists

Industries: Government Professional, Science, & Technical Education

Summary
Details

Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
Review reports and proposals, such as those relating to land use classifications and recreational development, for accuracy, adequacy, or adherence to policies, regulations, or scientific standards.
Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
Research environmental effects of present and potential uses of land and water areas, determining methods of improving environmental conditions or such outputs as crop yields.
Study reactions of plants, animals, and marine species to parasites.
Study aquatic plants and animals and environmental conditions affecting them, such as radioactivity or pollution.
Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
Write grant proposals to obtain funding for biological research.
Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
Prepare plans for management of renewable resources.
Plan and administer biological research programs for government, research firms, medical industries, or manufacturing firms.
Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
Study and manage wild animal populations.
Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
Measure salinity, acidity, light, oxygen content, and other physical conditions of water to determine their relationship to aquatic life.
Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
Teach or supervise students and perform research at universities and colleges.
Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
Study aquatic plants and animals and environmental conditions affecting them, such as radioactivity or pollution.
Develop pest management and control measures, and conduct risk assessments related to pest exclusion, using scientific methods.
Develop methods and apparatus for securing representative plant, animal, aquatic, or soil samples.
Study reactions of plants, animals, and marine species to parasites.

Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.

Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

96120/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

46.21/hr

Currently Employed

1,790

Yearly Projected Openings

180

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Analytical Thinking
Persistence
Adaptability/Flexibility

Analytical balances
Automated microscope stages
Barometers
Benchtop centrifuges
Bi distillation units
Binocular light compound microscopes
Chemical or gas sterilizers
Commercial fishing nets
Conductivity meters
Cuvettes
Dehydrators
Deoxyribonucleic sequence analyzers
Desktop computers
Digestion systems
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Digital cameras
Direction finding compasses
Dissolved carbon dioxide analyzers
Dropping pipettes
Dry wall single chamber carbon dioxide incubators
Drying cabinets or ovens
Electron microscopes
Electronic toploading balances
Fluorescent microscopes
Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
Freezedryers or lyophilzers
French pressure cells
Fume hoods or cupboards
Gas burners
Gas chromatographs
Gel boxes
Global positioning system GPS receiver
Goggles
HEPA filtered enclosures
Handheld thermometer
High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
Homogenizers
Inverted microscopes
Laboratory balances
Laboratory beakers
Laboratory burets
Laboratory evaporators
Laboratory flasks
Laboratory forceps
Laboratory funnels
Laboratory general purpose tubing
Laboratory graduated cylinders
Laboratory hotplates
Laboratory microwave ovens
Laboratory stirring rods
Laboratory washing machines
Laminar flow cabinets or stations
Liquid scintillation counters
Magnetic stirrers
Mainframe computers
Microbiology inoculation loops or needles
Microplate readers
Microplates
Microscope slides
Microtomes
Multipurpose or general test tubes
Notebook computers
Open stream current meters
Orbital shaking water baths
Pasteur or transfer pipettes
Personal computers
Petri plates or dishes
Photo attachments for microscopes
Photometer
Portable data input terminals
Protective gloves
Radiation detectors
Rapid amplification or complementary deoxyribonucleic acid ends RACE technology products
Refrigerated benchtop centrifuges
Robotic or automated liquid handling systems
Safety glasses
Salinity meter
Sampling syringes
Scanning electron microscopes
Scanning light or spinning disk or laser scanning microscopes
Scientific calculator
Shaking incubators
Specialty plates for bacteria
Specimen collection container
Spectrometers
Spectrophotometers
Standard fermentation units
Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
Stirring hotplates
Tissue culture coated plates or dishes or inserts
Tissue culture incubators
Transilluminators
Transmission electron microscopes
Triple beam balances
Tube furnaces
Ultra cold or ultralow upright cabinets or freezers
Ultra violet water purification units
Ultracentrifuges
Ultrasonic disintegrators
Vacuum or centrifugal concentrators
Video attachments for microscopes
Vortex mixers
Water samplers
Weather stations
pH meters